Sometimes you have to get sick to get well. And, well, Wofford running back Donovan Johnson could put up some sick numbers before he’s through.

And it really all started as he was on his knees in a bathroom during the winter break.

“I got the flu,” Johnson said. “From there, I built on it.”

He had a good debut as a true freshman, rushing for 350 yards and two touchdowns as the backup fullback. This season, he is being featured as a starter alongside All-American fullback Eric Breitenstein. Johnson is the speed option on the outside as well as an inside runner. The key, he said, was being able to lose about 12 pounds during the offseason.

And it all started with flulike symptoms.
“After I got sick, I really didn’t lift weights too much,” Johnson said. “I just did a lot of running. I wanted to get back to that lean fit because I was overweight last year and it kind of hindered me.”

“He’s in shape now,” Wofford offensive coordinator Wade Lang said. “He did a lot more in the summer than he did as a freshman. He works hard in practice and he plays hard.”

Johnson ran for 91 yards (7.0 per carry) Saturday in the 35-28 victory against Presbyterian. He had a key 20-yard run to set up the game-winning touchdown.

About This Blog

Todd Shanesy is an award-winning sports writer who has been twice honored nationally by the Associated Press and more than two dozen times by the South Carolina Press Association. He is a native of Troy, Ohio, and studied journalism at Marshall University (1987 graduate). Shanesy is a former sports editor of the Florence (S.C.) Morning News and has been with the Spartanburg Herald-Journal since 1991.

Follow him two ways on Twitter: @ToddShanesySHJ and @TerrierTracker (for everything Wofford-related).